1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the arrangement of a vacuum processing system having a transfer mechanism of a semiconductor processing substrate (including semiconductor wafers and other substrate-shaped samples, hereinafter simply referred to as a “wafer”) disposed between a vacuum processing chamber and a vacuum transfer chamber of a semiconductor processing apparatus, and a vacuum processing method using this system. Especially, the present invention relates to the arrangement of a vacuum processing system having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers connected in series via a transfer mechanism disposed within a plurality of vacuum transfer chambers, and a vacuum processing method using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the art related to the above-described type of apparatuses, especially apparatuses for processing objects within a decompressed chamber, there are demands for enhancing the microfabrication and precision of the process, and for enhancing the processing efficiency of the substrate to be processed. In response to such demands, there has been developed a multiple chamber apparatus in which a plurality of vacuum processing chambers are disposed in a single apparatus, according to which the production efficiency per footprint within a clean room has been improved.
According to such apparatus equipped with a plurality of vacuum processing chambers and other chambers used for processing, the gas and the pressure in the interior of each vacuum processing chamber or other chambers are controlled in a decompressable manner, and the chambers are connected to a vacuum transfer chamber having a robot arm or the like for transferring the substrates being processed.
According to such arrangement, the size of the whole body of the vacuum processing chamber is determined by the size, the number and the arrangement of the vacuum transfer chambers and the vacuum processing chambers. The arrangement of the vacuum transfer chambers is determined by the vacuum transfer chamber disposed adjacent thereto or the number of vacuum processing chambers connected thereto, the turning radius of the transfer robot disposed therein, the wafer size, and so on. Further, the arrangement of the vacuum processing chambers is determined by the wafer size, the vacuum efficiency, or the arrangement of devices required for wafer processing. Further, the arrangements of the vacuum transfer chambers and the vacuum processing chambers are also determined by the number of processing chambers required for the process or the maintenance performances thereof.
Regarding the above demands, patent document 1 (International publication of International Application published under the patent cooperation treaty No. 2007-511104) discloses methods and systems for handling workpieces in a vacuum-based semiconductor handling system, including methods and systems for handling materials from arm to arm in order to traverse a linear handling system. The disclosure of patent document 1 aims at solving the problems of a linear tool while answering to the demands for realizing a semiconductor processing apparatus capable of overcoming the restrictions specific to a cluster tool, to thereby provide a vacuum processing system capable of having wafers transferred therein with a small footprint.